Latch for elevator-gates



(No Model.) f

F. A. THOMAS.

LATCH POR BLEVATOR GATES. Y No. 423,459. A Patented Mar. 18, 1890.

Y Mga/'nga VIO ' resents one of the parts shownin Figs. l'and 2 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE@ FREDERICK A. THOMAS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

l- ATCH FOR ELEVATOR-GATEIS.

SPCFCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 423,459, dated March 18,1890.

Application iiled December 20, 1889. Serial No. 334,425. (No model.)

T0 alla/hom it may concern:

Be it known that l, FREDERICK A. THOMAS, a citizen of the United States,residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Latches for Elevator-Gates, ofwhich the following is a specification.

rIhis invention relates to an improved latch for elevator-gates socontrived thatl the motion of the elevator carriage or platform ineither direction, up or down, will cause the gate to close if the sameshall have been'left open.

The nature of the invention will be apparent from the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.

In said drawings, Figure l represents a vertical central section of aportion of an elevator-shaft and its carriage, illustrating theinvention. Fig. 2 is a view, upon a larger scale, of the latch, cam,door, dac. Fig. Srep- Insaid drawings, A represents the well or shaft ofan ordinary elevator.

B B are sliding doors placed at suitable in tervals in the shaft whencommunicating with the several floors of the building. These doors areofv the ordinary kind, opening and closing by a vertical slidingmovement, and

which are usuallyprovided with counter-balances, so that they will raiseeasilynand close of their own weight when not held. Each door, at oneside thereof, is provided with a catch b, adapted under certainconditionsto engage a latch device in the elevator-shaft,

now to be described. At a proper point inthe shaft is located thesliding latch C, having at its inner end the projection C. A lever D,fulcrumed at CZ to the wall of the shaft, is connected at one end to thesliding latch C, and is provided at the other end with the angleprojection C. A spring E, connected t-o the lever D, exerts its forcethrough said lever to hold the latch C in the closed position-that is tosay, to thrust said latch toward the door of the elevator-shaft.

G is the elevator-carriage. Mounted upon this carriage to move therewithis a campose that theelevator stands at one of the iioors ready toreceive freight or passengers, as the case may be, and that theelevatordoor B has been raised, as at Fig. 2, until the catch t snaps bythe latch C and rests thereon. The door is now kept from Aclosing by thelatch, vand the cam-block H, mounted on the elevator, isl in a positionto encounter the latch apparatus in whichever way the elevator may move.If the elevator descends, the camsurface h2 of the cam-block willencounter the projection D on. the lower end of the le ver D and causethe said lever to open the latch C and release the door, which willclose by its own weight,` and the spring E will immediately return thelatch and lever -'to their normal or closed position. If, yon the otherhand, the elevator ascends instead of descends, the cam-surface hEl willencounter the projection C on the end of the latch itself and cause thelatch to open in like manner and permit the door to close by its owngravity. lt will thus be seen. that in whatever direction the elevator`moves the latch is operated or opened every time the elevator passes 'adoor either descending or ascending, and any door which may have beenleft open and supported by its latch will be disengaged from such latchand permitted to close by its own weight. e

The apparatus thus ingly simple in construction and not liable to getout of order, requires no watching or attention on the part of thepersons employed in running the elevator or using the same, is strictlyautomatic, and cannot fail to operate so long as it is kept in order;and it is of such construction that all of its parts may be visible tothe eye directly at the door of the elevator. Moreover, it is of suchnature that if it should get out of order that fact would be describedis exceedimmediately apparentfbythe inability t'okeep catch on the,elevator-door, and the cam H, Jbhe dooropengl mountedfi Lon ltheelevatorf'carriageg, substan- I claimtially as specied. v In asafety-latch foil elevator-gates, the FREDERICK A. THOMAS. 5combination, with the elevator G and. door` B, Witnesses: l

vof the spring-latch C, having a projection EMMA HACIQ,

. C', the lever D, havingt-he projection-D5, the JoHNgvW'i M'UNDAYA.'

